Retail experts said that more companies are rethinking their leasing strategies and reducing store openings as a sluggish economy has caused people to spend less money.
"In general, retailers are looking at ways to cut back," said Thomas H. Maddux, president of KLNB Retail, a commercial real estate company in Towson.
Shuman said that the Landover store had met its expectations despite the weak economy, but that the area around the store developed more slowly than anticipated. He said its stores normally do well in slow economic times because people are looking for more bargains.
"We met our expectations there," Shuman said. "However, we can do 20 or 30 times better on the Internet. We're telling people instead of driving to Landover to fight [Interstate] 495 traffic, just log onto your computer."
C-Mart buys its merchandise from insurance company salvage lots, which collect items from stores trying to get rid of damaged goods. It also gets goods from sample sales and liquidations.
Retail experts said the new strategy could be a good one.
"It's smart and forward- thinking," said Mark Millman, president of Millman Search Group, an Owings Mills executive search firm that specializes in retail.
"Time will tell if that's a workable strategy. But it sounds very prudent and very smart to want to open stores hundreds of miles away and see if they have a concept that works nationwide," Millman said. "You won't know until you try it."
andrea.walker@baltsun.com
